Island Echo always welcome letters to the editor, which may of course not reflect the views of the publication and its staff.
This letter comes after organisers of the Isle of Wight Festival issued important guidance to those attending this year’s event, warning that chairs and blankets may need to be removed from parts of the Main Arena during busy periods for crowd safety reasons, as previously reported by Island Echo.
Letter to the editor – 3rd June 2026
“Before anyone comes for me with their pitchforks, hear me out…
“I completely understand why people are upset, frustrated and even angry about the new chair, trolley and picnic blanket rules for the 2026 Isle of Wight Festival. Some people genuinely need somewhere to sit, whether that’s because of mobility issues, health conditions or simply because standing for 12 hours isn’t for the faint-hearted.
“And believe me, as someone recovering from a colitis flare-up last year, nobody appreciates the importance of a strategic resting place and a clear route to the toilets more than I do. So this opinion comes from a survivor of The Great Isle of Wight Festival Chair Maze of 2025.
“One minute, I was happily enjoying the music with a perfectly planned emergency evacuation route to the toilets, the next minute I turned around and discovered an entire housing estate had been built around me.
“It was like someone had applied for planning permission, built a small market town and moved in the population of Newport while I was watching the first three songs.
Article continues below this advertisement “At one point I genuinely wasn’t sure if I was at a music festival or trapped in a garden centre during a closing-down sale.
“And then there were the picnic blanket people… Rows upon rows of people sitting side-by-side with their legs stretched out like human pigs in blankets.
“I found myself negotiating passage like some sort of medieval traveller.
“Meanwhile my stomach was issuing a full-scale PRIORITY ONE EMERGENCY ALERT. I was just trying to avoid becoming part of the festival’s composting initiative.
“Every route looked promising until… Chair block!
“At one point the situation became so desperate that I considered sending up a flare. With critically low bowel integrity, I thought about requesting immediate helicopter extraction, I was simply trying to escape Chair Alcatraz and reach the toilet before my body made other arrangements.
“It was like the Islands own version of the Crystal Maze!
“So yes, people absolutely need places to sit.
“But if we could perhaps leave the occasional escape corridor, wider than a Kit-Kat, for those of us responding to a toilet -related national emergency, that would be greatly appreciated.”
Kimmy
Isle of Wight
Brilliant. Totally agree, it’s like a bomb site of chairs & blankets. They need to mark out pathways for people to keep clear. Walking with a stick can be fun! blankets are trip hazards.
It must be a breach of safety regulations. I’m surprised they could get insurance. If there was an emergency or crowd surge causing casualties the organisers would be lynched
Absolutely love this.
Totally understanding that some people want/need chairs but pointing out that those people also they need to understand that others have issues that don’t need chairs. Not all issues are visible x
What a fabulous writer! Get writing a book, you have talent! xx
Interesting, that this letter writer is prioritising their own needs above those of others that may need to sit, yet still want to enjoy the music and the atmosphere. It’s not the job of the festival goers to organise access routes, it’s the job of the organisers to ensure that people who want to sit can do so, and that those who don’t aren’t impeded by them. The festival is for everyone, not just the young and fit.